I’ve never forgotten a conversation I had some years ago with the talented, blunt-talking Norwegian player Espen Erichsen. We were discussing the dangers of getting demoralised at the bridge table. You make a couple of idiotic mistakes, your confidence takes a knock, your judgment grows cloudy, and soon you’re playing worse than ever. We’ve all been there.
Well, not all. Espen is a top professional: he would never succumb to those sort of emotions. But he recognises them in others. And far from expressing any sympathy, he gave me a piece of advice which I must say took me aback: ‘When a man is down, you must kick him.’
I suppose that’s what you call the killer instinct, and it’s what makes champions.
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